For Love of a Demon
Plot Demon Culture is full of rules and customs. One such rule is no interspecial love. Under penalty of death. Follow the story of two demons as they begin to question just whether or not that rule is a just one. Prologue "Are you really leaving?" A seven year old Milagros whines as she sits next to a young teenager. The young teenager smiles softly, if somewhat bitterly. "It's the way things are. I leave to learn things the demons can't teach me, and then I return." Milagros pouts. "But Putri, what about me!" "I don't leave until tomorrow. The naming ceremony's tonight, we can hang out until then." Milagros frowns, her gaze downcast as her shoulders shook. Putri kisses the top of the frantic girl's head. "Milagros, look at me." Milagros whines, but looks up. "This isn't like your mother. I'm not disappearing forever." Putri promises. "Just four years. And then I'll be home for good." Milagros whimpers as she nods, throwing her arms around her friend. "Why don't we go pick out my outfit for the naming ceremony tonight?" Putri asks softly, knowing loud noises could send Milagros back into a panic. "Okay." Milagros sniffs. "That could be fun." They walk in silence, before the child ventures: "What's your second name?" Putri laughs. "You know it's bad luck to reveal it before the ceremony." Eleven year old Milagros felt her blood run cold. "Missing?" ''She gasped, staring at the Ever After Messenger sent to inform the Under World. He nodded, looking nervous. "Peggy Sincere and Ethereal Angels disappeared the night of graduation. She went to the bathroom, he went to his dorm. No one has seen hide nor hair of them since. We'll keep looking for evidence, but so far we have no leads." He recited again. Milagros broke down sobbing, dropping to her knees. She choked out one single sentence. "She broke her promise." Chapter one ''Milagros stands at the edge of the podium. Her dress, black and lacy, reaches her knees as she bows before the Demon Master, Mekhi. '' ''He places a design of the sludge mixture on her forehead. "Are you, Milagros Senses, ready to make sacrifices in the world above?" He declares. She knows her answer. She knows what she had to say, it was second nature by now. No demon ever made a different declaration. "I am!" She declares in as loud and powerful of a voice as he did. Mekhi smiles upon her with more love than her own father did, as he places gentle hands on her shoulders. He turns her away from him and towards the audience of demons. "Then tell us, Milagros, what name will the humans know you as? What is your second name?" Milagros smiles at the audience, though it barely seems to move her mouth. The noise is way too loud, and it hurts her extreme sensitive ears. She takes deep breaths to keep her from her panic attacks. "I will henceforth be known in the world above as Ares!" She says when she finds her voice again. The cheers that echo were deafening, even for someone without the enhanced hearing Milagros has. She has to struggle to keep her smile. Mekhi stands by her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Then may I present to the court of demons, our young daughter Milagros, "Ares" Senses!" Ares stood at the other side of the portal she had just stepped through. She turned around for a fleeting final glance at her people. Mekhi was there. As was Nur, Putri's mother, and a few others, hoping to get a glimpse of the latest demon to leave to the world above. But her father wasn't. She scowled as she turned away. Why was she surprised? Her father hated both her and the world above, so he wouldn't be caught dead at this ceremony. She heaved her trunk's strap over her arm as she walked through the school. People gave her confused, somewhat scared, glances, but she didn't care. All Ares cared about was getting to the dorms. Luckily, she soon found a door marked "Ares Senses, and Clamora D. Discord." No one else was in the dorm, which made her breathe out a sigh of relief as she collapsed onto one of the beds. However, the second her nose hit the pillow, she froze. She sniffed one final time, confirming what she had known. She smelled the classic demon scent of graveyard dirt, decay, mold, and cinnamon, but there was also a faint hint of lemon. She knew this scent, though it had been seven years since she had last smelled it. Her nose was never wrong. This was Putri's scent. Chapter two Peggy Sincere carefully sits down at her desk. She has made it through the majority of her classes without getting weird looks, or being made fun of, and now all she has to deal with was her last class of the day. Science and Sorcery. She takes a deep breath and bites her lip as the class begins. Two minutes after the bell rings, someone dives into the seat next to her. She raises an eyebrow at the sight of a haggard looking blonde boy, sweaty and slightly panicked. "Late on your first day Mr. Angels." Professor Rumpelstiltskin says. "Detention!" '' ''"Sir, no angel has ever gotten detention..." The boy tries to protest feebly. "Well first time for everything." The professor cuts off. Mr. Angels slumps in his seat slightly, but catches the demon child looking at him. He gives her a shy smile, making her blush and turn away. Angels and Demons are sworn enemies. Even befriending one would be bad news. Besides, no angel ever dealt with the fits that Peggy deals with. She'll scare him, she just knows it. So it's best for everyone if she keeps her distance. Little does she know that Mr. Angels' interest is piqued about the mysterious demon sitting next to him. And the interest would only increase as the year went on. Ares headed to the Castleterria early the first full day of classes. She had her umbrella draped over her arm, as usual. Her father had given her the one useful bit of advice about the upper world, the sun shone nearly daily and she would be hurt by it. Hence her now having her umbrella. She sat down at a table with her tray, next to one other girl. The girl immedietly rolled her eyes and moved across the room. Ares sighed. Seriously though, why had she expected anything different? Demons were ostracized in Ever After. Ares flinched when she heard what the girl muttered. Enhanced hearing, a blessing and a curse. "She's ugly and weird. Demons shouldn't live with normal people." Ares buried her head in her arms. She had been warned that was the mindset. it was why at the naming ceremony Mekhi had worded it "Make sacrifices in the world above." She was thinking along this line until someone else sat down. Her roommate. Clamora just ate her meal,after smiling at Ares, making the demon child even more confused than she was before. Chapter three It is about a month into Peggy's year at the school. Miss Trollsworth announces over the loudspeaker one day during General Villainy. "Peggy Sincere and Ethereal Angels, please report to the Headmaster's Office." Peggy gasps. She doesn't remember doing anything wrong, but the rules are so different here in the World Above, that she isn't going to be surprised if she did at some point. Another thing that causes her to pause is that Mr. Angels, the boy who seems so determined not to be in trouble, is called up too. He'll be upset, she knows that for a fact. As she leaves to the office, she hears one girl declare in a sing song voice: "Somebody's in trouble." Peggy rolls her eyes, so wanting to retort back a "real mature" but she keeps silent. She has more important issues to deal with. When she arrives just ahead of Ethereal, she has absolutely no idea what to expect. But this isn't it. She blinks and repeats what he said: "You believe we need to be companions?" "Yes. I believe it's better for the both of you if you spend some time together outside of school hours." "Why us?" Ethereal asks, noting Peggy's panic. "Because I've been observing you. Now leave." Ares walked down the hallway to her General Villainy Class. Portraits of famous villains leered above her on the walls, but she didn't listen. As she entered the classroom, she froze. On the wall were pictures from previous years of classes. One such picture caught her eye. In the middle of the group was Putri. Putri, or as the human world knew her, Peggy. She wasn't smiling in the picture, and instead rather had a look of beautiful mourning on her face. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with stars, even without her smile. Ares was starting to freak out. Seven years since she had seen, heard, or smelled anything related to her friend, seven long years. And suddenly she goes here and her friend is practically everywhere! Ares wiped her eyes as she sat down. So much memorabilia to a student who had vanished the day of graduation. It was as if the school was working opposite of Nur. Nur had ordered no one speak her daughter's name or reference her at all. And here was the school, not bothering to hide signs where Putri had been. The reason this was bothering her is that it seemed like the signs of her friend were following her around. What could Putri possibly want her to know? Chapter four "So we should hang out together?" Ethereal asks Peggy, as she tries to get away from him. "Not a good idea." Peggy answers shortly. "Why not? Do you hate me?" Ethereal says in a small voice, forcing the teenage demon to turn to him fully. "Um..." How was it possible that such a cinnamon roll could exist? "Mr. Angels, I'm a demon. Your an angel." "And..." He says, still completely oblivious. Peggy bites her lip to keep from laughing. "We are supposed to hate each other. It's what our species do." "That's dumb. People shouldn't hate other people just because of what species they happen to be." He declares. This time Peggy really does laugh. She blushes at the pleased smile on his face and quickly sobers up. "Even if it wasn't for the demon-angel thing, I'm a grenade. Hang out with me, and your going to get blown up." '' ''Clearly he doesn't understand what she's talking about, but she brushes past him. About ten feet away, she turns around to see him still standing there, thinking on what she said. A small, sad smile spreads across her face. "The world needs more people like you. Never change." Ares felt odd. She's felt this way since coming to the school, as if her long lost friend was watching her, and waiting for her. Trying to tell her something. Which was stupid. If Putri was here, someone else should have found her by now, it had been four years since she had vanished. If she was just hanging around the school, surely someone would have found her by now. Still it sticks with her. Ares shuddered. Finally she decided to do something about that. In her dorm, she looked both ways, and was relieved to see just herself there. Clamora was busy doing something else, so she was safe. "Um, Putri?" She began, feeling stupid for even attempting this. "I know it's been years, and you probably don't recognize me, but it's me, Milagros!" She bit her lip. "I cut my hair, as you can see, it's no longer long enough for you to try your crazy hair experiments. You remember the time you gave me three ponytails and a braid on top of my head? How'd you even come up with that?" She tried to keep things light hearted, but she had to tell her something. "Anyway, I had my naming ceremony. You know, the one you promised to be at? The one you told me that you would stand in the first row, in the spot usually reserved for a parent, because you and I both knew that my father wouldn't come. Guess what? We were right." Tears streamed down her face as she fell onto her knees. Her hand went over her mouth to try and stifle the cries. When she had somewhat composed herself, she whispered: "My second name is Ares." She flinched when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Clamora. Clamora held her arms out welcomingly, and Ares, after a moment's hesitation, ran in. Chapter five Peggy has done the best she can to avoid Ethereal for the majority of the year. It is nearing the end of their first year and they still haven't become "companions" as the headmaster wants. She;s walking through the halls when she feels incredibly lightheaded. Her vision darkens around the edges and she begins to shake as a fire spreads through her body.Oh no. She knows the signs. She knows what this means. She just wishes that no one else will ever see this. But her vision is too cloudy for her to make sure of this at this point. She vaguely remembers running, and that's about all she remembers, and it's a good thing she remembers that as well as she does. What seems like mere minutes to Peggy, is actually more like two hours. When she comes back to it, she's laying on something soft, warm, and sweet smelling. It smells like bread, butter, and fruit, and it just makes her want to sleep. Until it moves. It makes her jump, but strong arms hold her tightly, making her confused. "It's alright." She knows that voice. Timidly, she turns her head to see Ethereal Angels holding her tightly. "You okay now?" He asks. Peggy nods slowly, staring wide-eyed up into his face. It makes Ethereal burst into delighted laughter, his hands wiping some froth from her chin. "I don't know what happened with you, but I can try to help further if you want. Just tell me how." "Hold me a little longer. Please." She whispers, blushing as she hides her face, sounding a lot younger than she has any right to be, but enjoying the feeling of being held like this. He nods, stroking her hair with one hand, bringing out the lesser known demon trait, purring. But she can't bring herself to care. Ares felt a little better after talking with Putri, and was glad Clamora had been willing to stay and try to make her feel better. But she still wanted to find her friend. Or at least learn more about what happened. And she knew just where to go. "Madam Baba Yaga?" Ares called, entering the Home Evilnomics classroom. "Yes Miss Senses?" She asked, whipping something up. "Um, does the name Peggy Sincere ring a bell?" Baba Yaga froze. "That was quite a long time ago Miss Senses." She said quietly. "Yeah I know, but what do you know about her?" Ares pressed on. Baba Yaga would have been Putri's teacher in a couple of classes, and was also like, the least scary teacher at this school, and the one least prejudiced about demons. "Not much. Certainly not any more than you do." Baba Yaga said. "I don't mean about what kind of person she was, or things I could have found out before she went to the school. I mean, what was she like as a student here?" Baba Yaga turned to the young demon, a thin eyebrow raised. "You wish to know if there was any clue as to her disappearing." She did not say this as a question, rather as a statement of fact. So Ares didn't bother answering. "There was no clue. She seemed to be well enough. She was aloof toward other students, but always got good grades in class. Their were few fits of insanity, especially as she neared her graduation, I think that that was even getting better. But there was no definite clue as to why she would have disappeared." Ares' shoulders slumped slightly. The only good thing that she didn't already know from that. was that the fits had lessened and might even gotten better. "Well, thank you. Sorry to bother you with this." She started to leave. Baba Yaga cleared her throat, one nail resting on her chin. "I just remembered, after her first year their was one student she wasn't aloof with. She seemed to almost be his friend. His name was Ethereal Angels." Ares flinched. She'd heard that name before. It was the other person who disappeared that night. With that knowledge, did it mean...? She usually never let herself think along that line, but knowing that Ethereal and Peggy had been sort of friends, kind of made it seem likely. Had they disappeared together? Chapter six About halfway through her third year, Peggy realizes she can not keep denying this. It is bubbling up and it scares her. "Ethereal. We are just friends, correct?" She asks. Ethereal shakes his head. "You keep saying that, but I hope you realize that you trying to push me away, in no way lessens my affections for you." Peggy sighs. She's afraid of this. "I love you Ethereal Angels, and I know that love is stupid and meaningless and that a demon can never know love but I love you!" She screams, crying as she throws herself at him. Ethereal stumbles backwards for a little bit, but soon wraps his arms tightly around her. "I love you too." He says, trying to soothe her. Peggy, however, will not be soothed. "That's the problem! Do you know what happens when demons find a demon in a relationship with someone of a different species! They have every right to kill both the demon and their mate! And...I don't want it to happen to us." She whispers. "What about my home? We can go to my home?" Ethereal thinks aloud. "No go there. Your probably the only angel that doesn't despise demons." Peggy mumbled into the crook of his neck. "We'll work something out. Isn't a few months of happiness with my true love better than a lifetime without you?" He soothes. Peggy calms down. She knows what he's saying is true and she wishes she is as certain as he seems to be. But there is another variable in this problem. '' ''"Milagros." She whispers. "What?" Ethereal asks. '' ''"Oh nothing." She'll figure something out, no need to drag him into it. Milagros is under the influence of demon teaching, there is no way she'll be okay with this. Ares sat in her room. She held the yearbooks from every year Putri was at the school. The first yearbook, the only photo she was in was the school picture that Ares had already seen. In the second yearbook, she had a school picture, but was also in a small group of students labeled the "Troubled" Students. A quick glance, and comparison to the school picture, confirmed that yes, Ethereal Angels was in that group. In the third yearbook she was labeled 'Most Likely to have kids by the time she's twenty" and she shared the same label as Ethereal Angels! She was almost afraid to see the fourth yearbook, but she had to. It leered out at her from the page. "Cutest Couple!" Underneath that title was a picture of Ethereal and Putri. She clenched her fists and set her jaw. She felt an uneasy seed grow in her stomach, but she did know that, or rather held out hope that, they weren't actually a couple. They were just friends, and people thought they would make a cute couple. She knew for a fact that a lot of what people said were couples weren't really couples, and instead were just over analyzed to where it seemed like they would be couples. She winced though. If they actually were a couple, she had a pretty good idea what had happened to them. Demons and Angels never mixed well, not from either side. Angels didn't accept demons and demons didn't accept angels, it was just the way the world worked. Chapter seven "So we're doing it?" Ethereal asks just after their graduation. Peggy nods. Her heart pounds, but she knows this is the right thing. "We go away from here, find someone who will marry us, and then we live our lives. Even if they find us." Ethereal whispers, knowing Peggy still fears it. "Alright." They had meant up outside after escaping through the windows, they hope not disappearing at the same time will further throw the demons off their trail. They also each only have the bare essentials, trying to make it look like they dropped from off the face of the earth. Ethereal motions for her to follow him, but Peggy doesn't right then. She looks back towards the school, and an image of seven year old Milagros positively falling apart spread across her eyes. This was completely ridiculous. Milagros was eleven now. She'd handle it better than she did when she was seven. But maybe not, after all Peggy is basically disappearing forever. She is disregarding the promise she made to Milagros back when they were kids. All she can do is pray that Milagros will eventually understand. Ethereal turns Peggy to him, noting the look on her face. He doesn't say anything, just gives her a tight hug. He strokes her hair in a way he knows calms her, but it surprises her when she feels her shoulder get wet. "Your scared too." She realizes. "Not for me." Ethereal chokes out. "I don't care if they find me. But I'm scared for you. I don't want to lose you." Peggy feels her heart melt. "Come on Ethereal. No matter what happens, we will always be together." Ares was walking around in Book End late that evening. She needed a break, fresh air could clear her head and maybe help her think of a different reason that Peggy and Ethereal vanished at the same time, one that didn't automatically translate to death. "Ares!" Someone yelled, making her jump. Ares mentally groaned and rolled her eyes when she saw who the voice belonged to. Gentle Reason, who was coming closer followed by the rest of the so called Phantom Tollbooth Team. It wasn't that Ares hated them. Tito was entertaining, Alger was knowledgeable, Alpha was a lovable dork, Valiant was a cinnamon roll, and Gentle was sweet. But Ares didn't really want to spend time with them. Not now, and not ever, they got loud, and she got a sensory overload. Also, she couldn't see Clamora anywhere, the one person who never gave her a sensory overload. "We are going to be enjoying the frozen particles of a dairy product." Alpha offered. Gentle nudged Alpha. "We're going to get frozen yogurt. You wanna come?" She translated. Ares blinked for a second. She did enjoy frozen yogurt, but not with all of them, for reasons previously stated. While she tried to think of a polite excuse to get out of it, a smell hit her nose. It smelled like death and decay, lemon, cinnamon, bread, fruit, and butter. Part of it reminded her of a demon, but the bread, fruit, and butter, was strange. Something about that smell sent shivers down her spine. "I'll catch up in a bit." She promised. She began to sniff the air, and followed it, unsure of what she would find. Epilogue "A year. We've stayed hidden for a whole year!" Ethereal collapses on the couch. They have stayed hidden longer than any demon and other species couple has ever done. But still Peggy can't smile. "I had a dream last night." She whispers. "This doesn't sound good." Ethereal says. Peggy looks towards the window, in the small wicker bed. "I dreamed they were coming for us tonight." She bursts into tears and Ethereal holds her. "They won't find us." He promises. "You don't know that!" Peggy screams. '' ''A cry jolts her back to reality, and she carefully rocks the wicker bed, making soothing noises. "I don't care what happens to me. But I don't want either of you to be hurt." She whispers. "Take him and hide at the Townhouse tonight." She orders. Ethereal shakes his head. "I made a promise to you, for better or for worse. If you're really worried, I'll leave him at the Townhouse tonight, and we'll pick him up in the morning." He promises. Peggy nods. Ethereal scoops up the bundle from the bed, and holds it close. Peggy kisses her husband and his armful, before slipping a letter under the blanket. It was addressed to Milagros. Ares followed her nose and saw the source. A woman, not old, but not young either, and not pretty, she bore a face of pure hate, was raising a frying pan as if to hit the boy in front of her. Ares reacted on instinct, her body moved on it's own. She scooped the boy up and kicked the pan out of the woman's hand in one fluid motion. "Why'd you do that?!" The woman scolded. "Now he'll never listen." Ares flushed. "Spanking a kid when they've been really bad, with your hand, across their bottoms, is one thing, but using a frying pan, that's abuse!" "I'm surprised your defending him, demon. He's a halfling, a half demon, half angel and the worse half of both." This makes Ares really look at her armful. The boy was cute, with chocolate brown kinky curls, crystal clear blue eyes, fangs, and lopsided white feathered wings, that barely looked big enough to lift him even an inch off the ground. He was also like two, maybe three. He was dressed in nothing but a shirt, which was more like a dress on him. "You see?" The woman sneered when Ares didn't respond right away. "He shouldn't exist. I'm just waiting for this Mila-gros to find him and take him off my hands. Two and a half years of this..." "I'm Milagros." Ares interrupted. The woman handed her the letter and walked inside. Ares' heart lurched at the handwriting, it's her friend Peggy's. She'll read it later. Now she had to figure out what to do with this boy. Maybe she could give him to the other angel at the school, what was her name, Ruffles? Ares liked this thought for about two seconds before she realized that Ruffles had been incredibly rude to both her and her roommate, who was also a demon. Clearly Ruffles had been schooled in thinking angels were better than demons. "I guess I'm looking out for you now." Ares whispered. "Mama?" He asked. Ares couldn't describe how her heart melted at that word. "If you want to call me that. And you are?" "Solomon." He lisped. Ares balanced the boy on her hip as she walked back to her dorm. She set him down and gave him one of the cookies Clamora had on her desk. As he ate that, she finally read the letter. "Dear Milagros" It read "You don't have to forgive me. I know I broke my promise to you. And I love you. Your like my daughter. If I could, I would always be there for you. But I also love Ethereal. If the world was ideal this wouldn't mean my choosing between you two. But the world isn't perfect. I wish I could have come back, watched you mature into the woman that I know you've become. But I can't. I chose to be with Ethereal. And if your reading this, Mother has found us and carried it out. We're dead. We leave behind our son, Solomon. He was born just three days before I write this, on April 25th. All I have is one request, see past what you've been taught and raise him as your own. Please. Once again, I apologize for what I've done, and hope in time you can understand. Love Putri." Solomon looked up at the sound of Ares crying. "No sad Mama." He whined, giving her half of his gnawed on cookie. Ares smiled, wiping her tears. "Thank you, but why don't you eat that yourself?" As he ate, she slowly inspected him for injuries. And the sight was gruesome. He was dirty, much lighter than any two and a half year old should be, had a huge bruise on his back, and scrapes that looked like he had been drug across asphalt at high speeds. She clenched the fabric of his shirt, in order to quell her anger. The door to the dorm opened, drawing both of their attention. "Clamora," Ares greeted shortly. Clamora's mouth dropped open at the sight in front of her, probably brewing a stream of questions, but Ares had no time for this. She just learned that her best friend was killed by her mother, had married an angel, had a son with said angel, and just became a mother to the most selfless kid on the planet. She's tired, so, so tired. "Scale of one to ten, how okay would it be for me to murder someone?" She asked.Category:Cerisefan03's Fanfiction Category:Original Character Fanfiction